Category: Travel

We’ve been in California for more than a decade now and I don’t know what took us so long to make a trip to Portland. We visited the Rose city this September and throughly enjoyed our stay there. If you missed it, we made a day trip to Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood but spent the rest of our trip in the heart of Portland downtown. Here are 10 highlights from our trip – FROM a first time visitor, FOR a first time visitor!!!

1. Portland Saturday market– This was our first stop, even before we checked in to the hotel. Open on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday in spite of the name), Portland Saturday Market is the place to explore for art and food lovers. Not to mention, the fountains and the bridge over the river make it a kid friendly place. What not to miss: Trying out Elephant Ears 🙂

Portland Saturday Market

Trying elephant ear at Portland Saturday Market

Plenty to keep kids busy

2. Willamette Jet boat Excursions – We opted for the 2 hour Scenic Tour which covered the history of Portland’s magnificent bridges, up close view of the Willamette Falls and a lot of splashing and jet boat cruising. We were skeptical on how our tot was going to do on the tour – he was excited to sit in the boat, but a little afraid when it went fast, but after the first 2 water swirls, he was screaming “Go faster”. He had a blast and we loved the experience.

Willamette Jet Boat Excursion

Willamette Falls

Willamette Jet Boat Excursion

3. Powell’s Books– For a family that is fond of reading, this was a gem of a find. Especially on a rainy day or later in the evening post dinner when a lot of other places have closed. The place is open until 11 pm so you can head there after an early dinner. Our munchkin refused to get out of the “libary”. No, not a typo – that’s what he calls them.

4. Coffee, anyone? – For a city that loves its coffee, it wouldn’t be fair to list everything that’s out there, but here are a few prominent stops (Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Heart Coffee Roasters, Barista) that we made to see what puts this town at the top for coffee lovers.

5. Doughnuts to go with that coffee! – We almost decided to skip our much awaited stop at Voodo Doughnuts after evaluating the time we would have to stand in those looooooonnnggg lines. But come Tuesday afternoon – a rainy working weekday we were passing by the shop and decided to stop since it seemed a reasonable 30 minute wait. Although I do wish, we would have made a stop at BlueStar Donuts. I guess, there’s always a next time 🙂

6. A stop at a brewery – Portland’s breweries are famous for their beers and don’t rule out a stop at a brewery just because you have kids. Portland has a few family friendly breweries. We visited Laurelwood Brewing and M had a good time.

7. Food scene in Portland – While we thoroughly enjoyed most of our meals there, picks for family friendly restaurants in Portland are: Slappy cakes – Make your own pancakes! It cannot get better for a kid who likes his pancakes. Yes, we waited an hour (made a quick stop at a nearby park) for our turn and my munchkin loved it. Yakuza – This was quite a find, the place had great ambiance and we loved it because we haven’t been to a lot of family friendly Japanese restaurants that cater to kids as well as Yakuza does. Although, I am putting Mothers Bistro on here for readers, it was an ordinary experience for us!

SlappyCakes, Portland

SlappyCakes, Portland

SlappyCakes, Portland

SlappyCakes, Portland

8. International Rose Garden– Portland is home to the oldest continuously operated public rose test garden in the United States. While, this might not attract every tourist, it’s a great family friendly stop. My son loved running around and smelling the flowers, not to mention it was a perfect place to play peek-a-boo

Portland’s Rose Garden

Portland’s Rose Garden

Portland’s Rose Garden

Portland’s Rose Garden

9. Pittock Mansion– This was not on our list, but turned out that the Portland’s Children’s Museum is closed on a Tuesday and we decided to add this to our list. The place offers good 360 degree views of Portland for photographers to capture. Being an art lover, I personally enjoyed viewing Rhoda’s artwork that’s displayed at the museum.

10. Pioneer Courthouse Square, shopping and more – We also got a chance to explore Pioneer Place and areas around on our last day in Portland. Coming from California, tax-free shopping is an added benefit while visiting PDX

What we missed on our list – Meal at Screendoor (we waited quite a while after deciding to head out somewhere else), Spella Cafe, Portland Children’s Museum (note to families with kids: it’s closed on a Tuesday – so plan accordingly), more time at Powell’s and many more coffee and food stops.

Travel Portland’s website has a plethora of information for a visitors and we were able to cover a lot of things in little time because of some great suggestions from a colleague who’s a Portland local. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we had a blast. I hope we go back again soon

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We spent a few days in gorgeous Portland this September and while there’s plenty to do in Portland for first timer visitors, we wanted to drive to the Gorge and explore surrounding areas. If you’ve been following the blog, you’ll know how excited my munchkin gets on spotting waterfalls, and there are plenty of those along the historic Columbia River scenic byway so he was pretty excited about heading out even though we woke him up early. We told him that after the waterfall hike, we’ll try and head to the Hood River beach for a lunch picnic and he was all excited for the drive and the long day ahead of us. We left from downtown Portland early in the morning – a quick spot to pick up coffee and we hit the gorge area before the crowds got in. Unfortunately, it was drizzling for the first hour or so of our trip, so we weren’t able to take advantage of the early start. It got much better as the day progressed and by the time we reached Mt. Hood, the weather was gorgeous too! Although its best to spend a day each at Mt. Hood, but if you are in a time crunch and are trying to fit in both in a day trip, here’s a recommended day itinerary.

Mt. Hood from Timberland Lodge

Vista House at Crown Point: Our first stop was at the Vista House observatory. It had amazing views of the Gorge even on a drizzling morning. I can imagine it being picture perfect on a bright sunny morning.

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Columbia River Gorge – Waterfalls Hikes: After leaving from the Vista House, we headed to Latourell Falls. Its a pretty short hike to the base of the falls and can be easily done with a toddler. Our next stop was Multonomah Falls, and finding parking there was a nightmare because they are the most famous falls along the loop being the second tallest in the US. If you are short on time, and don’t plan on hiking to the top of the falls, I would skip going up to the bridge and rather pick a hike to Wahcleella which is toddler friendly.

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Bridge of Gods, Cascade Locks: Bridge of Gods spans across the river connecting Oregon and Washington and we decided to drive on the steel truss instead of getting out since it had started drizzling again.

Bonneville Lock and Dam: This was an unplanned spot, but we found out there was an option of spotting fish through the fish ladder at the Bonneville Dam and N wanted to see some “fishies”. A pleasant stop to spot some fish :).

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Historic Columbia River Gorge Hotel: Another unplanned stop was at the Historic River Gorge Hotel. This is a nice place to sit, sipping coffee and enjoying the spectacular views of the river.

Waterfront Park at Hood River – The best stop of our day trip: This was an absolute gem. Away from the crowds, more popular with the locals, the Waterfront Park has a nice sand beach with shallow waters for swimming. Hood River is THE place for windsurfing and kitesurfing in Oregon and Waterfront Park is THE place to watch the windsurfers and kitesurfers. Plenty of restaurants at walking distance from the park for lunch and some food trucks if you want to do a picnic lunch at the beach. There are breathtaking views of the gorge from this park. Ideally, you could easily spend an entire day here.

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Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood: After a late afternoon lunch, we headed to Mt. Hood. En route are plenty of orchards for apple picking, but our kiddo was napping so we decided to head directly to Timberline Lodge. If you are headed to Mt Hood post lunch, don’t forget to stop for some freshly baked goodies at one of the orchards/bakeries on your way. The route itself is quite scenic. After spending some time at the Timberline Lodge, we headed up the hiking trail. N was excited to climb the mountain. Although it was chilly, he had the energy to pace up the trail.

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Timberline Lodge has picturesque views of Mt. Hood and it was worth every bit of it. We headed back to downtown Portland after a wonderful day in the gorge and Mt. Hood! We did spend a lot more days in downtown Portland, but this day trip was a highlight of our mini vacation for my son – waterfalls, swimming at the beach, sand play, climbing mountains (well, for him that’s what it is even though it’s barely a mile or half of climbing :)). Can’t ask for more, right?

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Kids look forward to birthdays, and when its a week of celebration with sun, beach and sand, its’ likely they’ll never want the celebration to end. Last year for Thanksgiving, we planned a trip to Cancun to celebrate N’s second birthday. After our week long trip in the Mayan Riviera, when we were packing bags to head back, my toddler tells me ‘I like this home, I don’t want to go back to the other home! Can we stay here?’ I told him we will be back when he grows up a little, but it was a trip he talked about for a long time after coming back. And going back to day care after the vacation was not easy. I don’t remember him calling any other vacation spot that we’ve been to as ‘home’ so I have a feeling he had a blast!

We decided to stay in Riviera Maya over Cancun because of its proximity to few of the attractions we had planned for our trip. Here are highlights from our trip – things that we were able to do with a 2 year old in Mayan Riviera.

Private tour to Chichén Itzá, Valladolid and Ik Kil Cenote:We opted for the private tour to Chichen Itza over guided group tours, since its a 2 hour drive from the resort area and it definitely makes sense to go there early to avoid the crowds and pick your stops, especially when you have a toddler with you. This option also gives you a chance of stopping for tequila tasting that most guided tours don’t offer. Within Chichen Itza, we decided to stick to a route and missed out on going all the way to the Sacred Cenote, but were able to cover a lot of the ruins. The trails are stroller friendly and that was a huge help :). The town of Valladolid is vibrant and reminded us of the streets of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico! We did go to the Ik Kil Cenote but it was quite deep and decided against jumping in with our 2 year old. But if you are traveling without kids, its a great way to cool of the humidity. We saw several folks diving in!

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Dolphin Interaction: There are plenty of eco-parks in the area including Xel-Ha which offer activities for older kids, but we opted to visit the Dolphin discovery center at our resort for an interactive tour since its more suitable for younger kids. My son really enjoyed his encounter with Plata – the dolphin. He was hesitant at first but then did not want to come out of the water.

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Mayan Ruins of Tulum:A trip to the Mayan Riviera is not complete without a visit to the ruins in Tulum, so we opted for a half day group tour of Tulum since it was only 30 minutes from our resort. The beach at Tulum is one of the best! Though we didn’t carry a hiking carrier with us so were not able to explore the entire area within the allocated tour time! If there’s an option drive there instead of the tour so you can explore as well as spend quality time at the beach.

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Sand castles and serenity of white sand beaches:Nothing excites my 2.5 year old more than a sand pit, so the resort’s beach was a perfect way for us to relax at the beach while he immersed himself in the sand.

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Pool fun, especially if you have a water baby like mine :):I can see why staying at all inclusive resorts is a great idea after you have a baby. With more than 5 pools with plenty of kiddie areas and water slides, we couldn’t get enough of pool fun! Seriously, if we had an extra day or 2 there, I would have opted to have him in the pool rather than going any place else because being in the pool brings out a mile wide smile on his face every single time he splashes in the pool!!!

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And much, much more:Carousels, shopping, eating, kids club, vibrant statues and Christmas decorations – These were all part of our trip but my memory fades! Looking at the pictures makes me feel very nostalgic 🙂

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What we saved for a later trip: We got great valuable input from the resort staff and they suggested saving XCaret, Xplor, snorkeling at Akumal and Coba ruins for a later trip since those are more suitable for slightly older kids, especially if you want to enjoy majority of the attractions.

I know the kiddo is not going to remember his second birthday blast except for the pictures and videos, but it was a good one! M and I will surely cherish it :).

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I have missed writing and can’t express how happy I am back doing things that make me who I am – blogging being one of them. For all those of you who messaged/emailed/asked when my next blog entry was going to be, here it is! Thank you for being patient and making me pick it up again. A lot has changed around me since my last entry so I figured a new theme and appearance to the blog was in order too. Change is indeed the only constant!

Well, I am picking up blogging again after more than a year of lazing around, so I am going to start with an entry on my lazy weekend getaway last year with the best people I have the pleasure of knowing – My family :). With an active toddler in the tow, VRBO offers the best options when picking for a place to stay in my opinion. So, we booked a lovely hill top home with great views of Bodega Bay.

Views from Bodega Head

Staying at Dubloon was the best decision of the trip. The glass doors have great views of the ocean and the deck has views of the green patches of hills. Although it was a little cold when we went, the house was quite cozy and fully stacked up with necessities. We went with my parents and sister and they absolutely loved it. The house is not baby proof or baby friendly, so we had to move a few things around to allow ample of playing space for my son and carry everything that was needed for him. Nevertheless, it was in an excellent location – close to the beach, close to restaurants as well as a gas station! I did not post a lot of pictures of the house, but check out their VRBO link, the owner has plenty posted there.

The whole idea of the trip was a relaxing family retreat, but here’s a quick list of toddler approved things that we did on our Bodega Bay trip.

Whale watching at Bodega Head : This was a mere co-incidence, but we were glad to spot a couple of grey whales at Bodega Head during their southbound migration. They were extremely far off, so we never managed to get good pictures, but my dad was the most excited – I am sending him whale watching at Monterey Bay on his next trip :D. I don’t know if I can handle all the sea sickness but he’ll be up for it. I know the whales are much closer to the Bodega Bay shore during the north bound migration which happens during the months of March through June, so spring would be another great time to visit. I can see why Bodega Head is such a popular spot of the Sonoma Coast State Beach. Breathtaking views in all directions and the vastness makes it serene. In spite of it getting colder, we made sure to stay for the sunset before heading back to our villa.

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Doran Beach : Bodega bay has a bird walk coastal access area that we were able to check out. It was quite foggy and not a lot of birds but may be summery and non-foggy days are better. Doran beach is also a great area to hangout with a kid who loves playing in the sand and making destroying sandcastles 😉

There’s plenty of stuff to do at Bodega Bay but our favorites were playing in the sand, watching whales (which we did not expect on our trip) and spending quality time with people that matter most.

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Yosemite National Park is one of our favorite places to visit in California. I know I have said this a gazillion times but this is what comes to my mind every single time I sit to write about Yosemite. Our first visit to Yosemite was way back in 2006 during Thanksgiving break and our latest in June of 2015. Yosemite is a place for all seasons and for all ages. All our previous trips to Yosemite were either camping trips or hiking trips which did not require a lot of planning when it came to reservations. But last year, when a friend asked us if we wanted to book the Yosemite lodge for this year since it would be more convenient staying in a lodge rather than camping or staying at Curry Village, especially with babies, we agreed and got reservations at the Yosemite Lodge for the first week of June. And I am so glad we did! I was able to see Yosemite in a whole new way..So here’s Yosemite for you: Now and Then…

YOSEMITE NOW (Year 2015)

On our way to Yosemite, I told my son he was going to see waterfalls and he picked up the word so quickly that we heard ‘waterfallls.. waterfalls..waterfalls..” a million times. Okay, I am exaggerating but the point is that it worked and it kind of made him look forward to the trip. One of the advantages of staying at the Lodge is we could walk to Yosemite Falls! On our trip to Yosemite back in 2009, we climbed up the rocks at the Lower Falls and went as high as up we could go. Fast forward to 2015, we were running around after my 18 month old to make sure he did not cross even a single rock. It’s surprising how parenthood changes you! Of course, M, N and I will definitely climb to the top of the falls once he grows up a little. For now happiness is at the base of the falls 🙂

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When folks ask us “What do you do when you go to Yosemite?”, the answer is always the same: Hike! But this time around it was going to be slightly different. We were a group of 5 families with 5 toddlers in the mix so we had to pick activities other than hard core hiking. We did the usual strolls and the walks, but here are a couple of things that we enjoyed doing on this trip with N.

Yosemite Valley Moonlight tour: We signed up for the nightly open bus valley tour along with a bunch of other friends. It’s a two-hour long tour which begins at 9 pm. Everyone is asked to dress up warmly and carry blankets, especially with babies. N was extremely excited at first because he thought he was riding in a dump truck. He started with saying bye-bye to the moon and trees. Eventually he dozed off. We really enjoyed the tour and some of the highlights were viewing the climbers at El Capitan in the moonlight. We could only see their head lights but it was stupendous! There are a couple of stops where you are allowed to get down (Tunnel view before Glacier Point and the Swinging Bridge). The skies were glowing with stars and the view from the Tunnel Point Vista was surreal. We could see the Half Dome in the background. Truly picturesque! Since I was holding N in my arms, I did not get down at any of the stops but all in all it was a fun tour.

Biking:The last morning of our 3 day trip, we rented bikes, my son calls them “bikal” – still don’t know if it’s a mix of bike + cycle or if he just skips the ‘see’ when trying to say bicycle (by-see-kal). Anyhow, once the bike trailers were loaded with tiny passengers, we set out. It took me more time to get used to the bikes than my little one in the trailer. Having learnt how to ride a bike in India, I tend to pedal backwards when I don’t need to accelerate. Here when you pedal backwards, it acts as a brake. I find that so annoying and it always has me on the edge every single time we rent a bike.

YOSEMITE BACK THEN (Years 2006 through 2014)

Although I have shared a couple of stories previously, for anyone that missed reading it, here goes the list our exciting Yosemite Stories 🙂

Car lockout Thanksgiving 2006: Our first trip to Yosemite was unforgettable, because 5 of us got locked out of our car on our way to Tenaya Lake at a random vista point and it started snowing. Our jackets were in the locked trunk, and we only had 2 phones with minimal battery with us. Ranger calls, waiting for AAA, rescue by a family from San Diego, and a white Thanksgiving! How can it not be memorable 🙂 Read more about it here.

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Driving a car with almost failed brakes and a lost campsite:Back in 2007, we camped at June Lake which is at the other side of Yosemite valley (toward Mammoth Lakes). Gorgeous scenery and secluded locations, but here’s the fun story associated with the trip. Ever reached a wrong camp location because it was pitch dark and GPS signals were pretty bad in the national park? And then forced someone out of their designated campsite? Well, we’ve done that!!! Not only did we end up staying at a different campsite than the one where we had our reservation at, but we also set up our tent at 11 in the night because we had to drive a rented car on the windy roads with almost failed brakes 😦 The entire next day was spent in Mammoth Lakes trying to get the broken car fixed. We hardly spent time inside the valley, but the story definitely comes up on all our Yosemite trips. Read more about it here.

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The Vernal/Nevada Hike: 5 of us hiked to the top of Nevada Falls via Vernal Falls back in 2009. This was a practice run to see if we had it in us to hike the Half Dome some day. I can say this has been my only trip where we things didn’t go a bit haywire.

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The Epic Half Dome Hike: 7 of us hiked to the top of Half Dome back in 2011. I have no idea how I pulled this one! But it will be a story I will cherish my entire life. Read more about it here.

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Be it our 2006 White Thanksgiving trip or our 2011 Half Dome trip or our 2015 trip with the kiddos, they have all been memorable. I heart Yosemite National Park. I will end this the same way I began: Yosemite National Park is INDEED one of our favorite places to visit in California 🙂

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Two years, multiple surgeries and a plethora of ups and downs later we are back to doing things that we love. And I hope it continues this way. We kicked off 2015 with a short hiking trip. Our first hike in almost over 2 years and our first hike with our one year old was at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, California. I must say that picking a hiking spot was slightly challenging since we are trying to get used to carrying a baby on our backs and want to target shorter hikes. Nevertheless, our first pick find turned out to be a great one. It was M’s idea to go to Natural Bridges State Park to photograph the monarchs, spend time at the beach and keep it baby friendly. So off we were to Santa Cruz all prepared to introduce our little one to hiking.

Natural Bridge

So what’s special about this state park? As per the state park’s website: The beach, with its famous natural bridge, is an excellent vantage point for viewing shore birds, migrating whales, and seals and otters playing offshore. The park’s Monarch Grove provides a temporary home for up to 100,000 Monarchs. From late fall into winter, the Monarchs form a “city in the trees.” The area’s mild seaside climate and eucalyptus grove provide a safe place for monarchs to roost until spring. The monarchs typically begin arriving in mid-October and have left by mid-February.

On the Monarch Trail

The GOOD: Lovely weather, clear skies and my excited little one who couldn’t stop muttering “fy-fy” and fluttering his hands like a bird when I explained to him that we were going to spot butterflies and they fly too, just like birds!

Can you count how many monarchs are there?

The BAD: Not being able to spot as many butterflies as we hoped too.

Before we went on the hike, I googled up the ‘Monarch Trail’ to find out what to expect and I was thrilled by the images I saw. It appeared as if it was going to live up to the hype that M had created. Of course, I knew that since we were going there towards the end of the season, the number of butterflies might be less since they migrate back. Google up images for monarch butterflies at natural bridges state park in santa cruz and you will know what I am talking about.

Unfortunately, we did not get to witness so many butterflies and the so called “monarch bokeh”. When we were on the hike, the rangers told us that the number of butterflies has been much much lesser this year. Even during the start of the season. They are dwindling in numbers 😦 I wish next year and the years to come are better! I never thought I would say this – NEVER and I really mean NEVER, but we need to preserve nature and our natural habitat, for the next generations. I am a nature lover and I feel a joy that I cannot explain when I go hiking and it would be nice if my child can experience it! The rangers at the state park are encouraging everyone to plant more milkweed plants because that is the only plant these monarchs feed on.

Caterpillar spotted at the visitor center

Anyhoo, after the hike we headed to the beach and spent some time there. There’s only one natural bridge now, but earlier there used to be three. The first one fell off in the early 1900’s and the second one around 1980 due to a storm. There is access to tide pools from the beach so we took a stroll there. All in all, it was a great day out and my little one loved it. Post our trip, butterflies have become a thing for him. He cannot stop saying “fy fy fy” and flutter his hands when he spots a butterfly in the book. Every time I see that, I feel the trip was worth it 🙂

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I have run out of excuses for having long gaps between blogs, but let me try this! I received a lot of criticism after my last food blog. M said that I did not do justice to the experience we had at The Restaurant at Meadowood. So on our next fine dining date, I was busy cranking up notes so that I could do justice when I write about that dining experience. Did it spoil my actual dining experience? Read on to find out…

I love trying different foods, but I am very Indian at heart so ever since I read about Campton Place and Chef Srijith Gopinathan’s Cal-Indian creations, I wanted to go dine there. So, we decided to do a lunch date for my birthday at the Restaurant at Campton Place. The restaurant is located in the Taj Campton Place Hotel in Union Square, San Francisco. Decor at Campton Place is decent and the ambiance is quite classy. The tables all had a lovely center piece of a flower that reminded me of “lotus” – so the decor definitely had an Indian touch. Since we went there on a weekday, it was not crowded at all. Our server was quite friendly and courteous. We had already decided to go for the tasting menu since I had read about Chef Shrijith’s delicious idli dish. I did ask the server if they were going to serve us that in the tasting menu and he nodded a big “yes”. With that nod, I started looking forward to our culinary odyssey 🙂

Spring “Idli” sauteed with Sugar Snap Peas, Raisins and Black Mustard

Amuse bouche was a wild arugula, avocado and green apple foam. It was more of a palate cleanser. I am not big on foams, but I could taste all the different flavors. Then we were served a cold heirloom tomato and strawberry gazpacho. Frankly speaking, I missed the Indian touch in this dish. It was good, but I couldn’t distinguish any Indian flavors in the dish. I would expect that any highly rated Michelin star restaurant. It has the Californian flair, but where was the Indian flair? I was slight disappointed when my next dish was a soup too. The second course was corn and mushroom soup made with buttermilk. I have to admit that the buttermilk added a nice touch to the dish but I was still missing the Indian spices. M was served butter poached lobster with coconut curry as his second course and me mentioned that the dish had a lot of South Indian flavors to it, so I was hoping my next dishes would satisfy my craving for that Indian touch. After all, this was the primary reason why we had picked the place.

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Post appetizers/soups, we were served our first main course and the much awaited “Spring Idli” dish. After I had the first bite of this dish, I finally started getting the Indian touch. The sugar snap peas and raisins gave it the sweetness, and the sambhar curry the spice. The dish matched up all the expectations I had created in my mind for it after reading rave reviews about it. My next course was “String Hoppers” with korma sauce and seasonal vegetables. It was served with a side of papadum which is basically a deep fried crispy wafer. It went really well with the noodles and the spicy cashew korma curry. It was so mouth-watering that after having the korma sauce, I forgot about the first course of strawberry gazpacho not having any Indian flavors. M’s final main course was a duck samosa and it was by far his favorite dish. He said he could eat 4 more of these and we were already at our fourth course, so I can only imagine how good it much have been.

Last but not the least, my favorite course was the Basmati rice dessert served with mango tart and candied rice. I eat Basmati rice on a day-to-day basis as a staple, so to create a dessert out of it was definitely very creative of the Chef. The mango tart was delishhh and it went really well with the tamarind paste served along with it. Couldn’t have asked for more! Ofcourse, we finished with a classic chocolate cake to celebrate my birthday. I left the place extremely happy. The place surely has a Cal-Indian flair. I would love to go back some day 🙂